Make a long story short, took a cons. loan about 4 years back, though I had everything included, apparently I missed this one, Its not on my credit report anywhere, which is how I missed it,but it was a legit account.I have never recieved a call or letter or anything about this.....Anyway I have finally got my credit on track, even got my beacon to 700 in the process of looking into my first home ect, and yesterday a friggin sheriff knocks on my door w/ a civil summons.....ita page stateing a civil action has commenced against me followed by a bunch of pages from the original credit card agreement, its stamped by the county c.s.c but theres no date to appear or anything, sheriff even told me theres no date to appear, just that I should call the plaintiffs attorny. Bottom line, Its less than a grand including court fees and I can pay it off (means no xmas for my family)but am more concerned about it showing up after Ive paid it on my CR and killing my beacon and new home purchase... Any suggestions. Thanx
The best way to keep it off your credit report is to fight it so that they don't get a Judgment. 1. You say you haven't paid on it in 4 years. That would put it outside the Statute of Limitations in about 1/3 of the states. What is the SOL in your state? Look it up and see. If it IS out of statute, that is a FDCPA violation and you have both an Affirmative Defense and a Counterclaim. 2. In any event, they are only suing over $1000 which is a very small amount. There are boards where you can get lots of advice on how to run their legal bills so high they will be glad to just drop the case and run. Among the ones I suggest are www.debtorboards.com and www.artofcredit.com 3. On Debtorboards you will find a series of posts that actually appeared here on CN first but were lost in the pile of old posts. You can search for them under my screen name or just go to Debtorboards and read the Flyingifr Method of Aggressive Credit Repair. These posts detail how you can fight off creditors by using the law as both a sword and as a shield. The important thing is to file an ANSWER (along with and defenses and Affirmative Defenses that may apply and maybe some Counterclaims) to the summons to prevent a Default Judgment, which is what the creditor is hoping for. After you have filed the Answer (denying everything) you bury them in Discovery. On debtorboards we have threads devoted to preparing Answers and Discovery. The important thing is to FIGHT BACK - don't do NOTHING!!!
Heres wher it gets confusing: Im not entirely sure what the actual amount would be because they are looking for interest of 23.99% on $849.00 since 2001.....but they dont disclose the total amount being sought Heres where it gets confusing: The account was opened in NY where the SOL is six years. I have lived in NC since Feb of 98 where the SOL is only 3 years. I also noticed the "ageement they listed as "exhibit A" is from 02....4 years after my original agreement....in 98 Im not sure which SOL would apply and what my next step should be.Ive asked on several boards and get conflicting responses..... Any suggestions? Aj
If it went delinquent in 2001, and you made no further charges, you may not have even agreed to an "agreement" from 2002.
